habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

TYPOLOGY OF RUPESTRIAN CHURCHES IN CAPPADOCIACRHIMA-CINP projectFig. 13 Yilanli Kilise, Peristrema. (S. Kostof, 1989)Fig. 14 Church of the Monastery of Sahinefendi. (L. Rodley, 1985)Fig. 15 Direkli Kilise, Belisirma. (L. Rodley, 1985)Asia Minor and Cappadocia, becoming the typology of manydifferent architectures for genre and dimensions.Subsequently the western arm, including usually the entrance,increases in length than the other three, with the intention togive the suitable space for the religious services; the altar is locatedat the center, at the intersection of the arms, covered by adome or sometimes by a flat ceiling, and it houses the remainsof the Saint. In a short time it was adapted to the churches ofcongregations or communities into independent buildings, notincluded into monastic complex; since the church became abuilding for daily liturgies, the altar was moved from the centerto the eastern arm and it was placed into an apsidal arch,for convenience, as a result of the celebration of the Mass. TheCross preserves its form, but loses its symbolic meaning.If the central space is larger, against the cross-arms are veryshort, but this aspect is not always visible: in the free-crossplan of Ylanli Kilise at Belisirma and of the Church n. 21 atGoreme, the arms are 90cm deep, and the cross is formedby four equal arms with a gradient sloping to the center; theapse is very large and elevated than the central compartment,linking to the eastern one. In many cases, the apse forms theeastern cross-arm, as in El Nazar at Goreme and in Agac Altiat Peristrema, where the cross is articulate, including an apseand three rooms, elements forming the same cross-arms, inthe eastern wall of the north and south arms, there are variousniches and secondary apses. Another example is Goremen.6a, where the marked depth of the arms makes clear the perceptionof the cross. There are also some churches, in whichthe western part of the cross extends to give emphasis to theeast-west axis of the apse, and generally, to get this result, thewestern room is carved deeper; in this case, the plan is similarto the Latin cross. The perception of the cross is increased bythe ceiling of the various parts: the arms are covered by barrelvaulted and the central space by a dome with angular elementsconsisting generally in pendentives.The already mentioned Ylanli Kilise has a flat ceiling at thecenter, in which a large cross is carved in relief, and the entranceat the western arm is preceded by a rectangular narthex;generally this last is not very large, sometimes similar to asmall arcade or a simple vestibule, and there are also examplesof cruciform narthex, as in Goreme n. 12, n. 21 (s. Catherine)and n. 27.Double CrossIn Cappadocia many churches and chapels have been unfortunatelylost, and we can not have a complete picture of all thechanges that known typologies have been through and of allthe different interpretation of the single chapel, with incredibleartistic results. The coupling of aisles or a subsequent enlargementwith additions of rooms and ancillary spaces, alsoto adapt the building to the evolution of religious rituals, hasshaped plant sat times very articulate.There are two examples of special rupestrian church in Cappadocia,both located in the nucleus of Aviclar, near Goreme:the Yusuf Koc church and a funerary chapel on this site. Thesecond one, dated back to the tenth century, is carved in ablock of tuff, a characteristic geological formation of the region,and its plan takes the form of a free double cross; tworooms in the shape of a Greek cross were placed side by side,connected by the southern arm of the northern room, wherevolumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 212 16/11/2012 15:03:28